The definition of Adapting
by Maroon-dragon
Summary: This is the sequel to Adapt written by LaylaBinx, this is going to be a multiple/chapter story about what happens when Harvey decided to take care of Mike after the accident. Read Adapt firts to understand this one.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I know I am still working on The Case, but this opportunity came up and I could not resist it. I will still be writing for The Case, but I am going to try to juggle both of them. This is a sequel for Adapt which the ever awesome LaylaBinx gave me the rights to. **

"Don't you dare leave me here Mike! Don't you dare to bail out so soon.." The words fell from Harvey's mouth one by one as he tossed and turned in his bed. The memory of seeing Mike on the ground, blood pouring from his chest still haunting him. "MIKE!" With a startled yell he shot upright, breathing heavily. He ran a hand through his hair and glanced at the clock on his bedside table. 6:30AM it read. He sighed, sleep was out of the question now. He had to pick up Mike from the hospital today, and he would have been plagued by nightmares if he had tried anyway.

As he let the hot water relax his muscles he kept telling himself that Mike had not died, in his dreams he was always too late, or the bullet hit the heart instead of the lung, or the ambulance didn't come. Every single scenario in which things went wrong had been plaguing the older man. He scoffed, things had already gone wrong, every scenario in which things went worse was better suited.

It just had been so terrifying to see him lying there, so pale, so…broken. He had called him useless. It didn't matter that Mike was going to be okay. The words could not be taken back, and he already was forgiven by Mike for them, but there was this saying "you need to forgive yourself first.." Harvey doubted he would ever forgive himself. With a sigh he turned off the shower and grabbed a towel. Time to face the music.

"I can dress myself perfectly fine, thank you!" The disgruntled sounds were the first things that Harvey heard when he entered Mikes room. The voice still sounded sore, and small sounds of wheezing could be heard.

"What's going on?" He asked when he walked past the screen. The sight before him would forever stay in his brain. The nurse looked so frustrated, and seeing the hairs that framed her face she had been trying to get Mike dressed for a while now, without success. Mike however was sitting on the side of the bed, bandages covering his chest in his underwear. His face was that of a petulant child. Knowing how stubborn Mike could be until proven wrong decided to help the nurse. "It's fine miss, give me the clothes I'll help him get dressed." The relief on her face was almost comical. Mike his face however was priceless, apparently the thought of Harvey dressing him was even worse than the nurse.

"Relax kid, she would not leave if I told her you would do it yourself. Now get dressed." He threw the clothes next to Mike on the bed and proceeded to sit down in a chair, his face that of pure amusement. With a huff Mike grabbed his shirt and proceeded the movement to raise his arms when he hissed. Refusing to give up he tried again, only to have his arms fall back to his side again as he pulled the muscles on his chest. Instead he decided to try the jeans, throwing a look at Harvey that told him to shut up and not say a thing. Harvey just raised his hands in mock surrender.

After watching mike fail miserably at hiding his pain Harvey stood up. "Are you done now?" he held out his hand. With a face of pure torture he put the shirt in Harvey his hands. "Now that wasn't so hard was it." The shit eating grin only seemed to annoy Mike more.

Harvey could understand his annoyance, it was terrible feeling so completely useless. Visions flashing before his eyes of Mikes blood stained lips, the fading pulse. He shook his head inconspicuously as he tugged up Mike his jeans, trying to ignore the need to laugh as he was kneeling on the floor his face right in front of his associates crotch, if anyone of the firm would walk in right now…Really the image this created, considering Mike already had his T-shirt on therefor hiding the bandages or the fact that he was wounded.

A knock on the door sounded just as Harvey stood up. The Doctor that had first spoken to Harvey when Mike was brought in was there accompanied by a nurse with a wheelchair. "Okay, so Miss. Delaney here tells me your vital signs are okay, and you are experiencing no side-effects from the medicine. Which means you can go home, however I do need to know whether you have someone that can check up on you? You should stay in bed for a few more days, and not do anything that strains the muscles." Smiling in a way that only doctors can. The "Do not dare to negotiate this" smile. "That's fine, Harvey here will take me back to my apartment and I will make sure to take it easy." Mike said using his best innocent look, but Harvey knew better.

"The hell you are kid, you are going to stay at my place till you are fully recovered." Somehow he had managed to copy the doctors smile perfectly.

"Harveeeey, I will be fine at my place."

"Then tell me this, who will check up on you there? And I doubt that your apartment actually passes the health codes."

"It's just fine!" the coughing fit that followed that outburst was enough to tell Harvey he was right.

"I think you should take his offer Mr. Ross. Your friend here seems decent, and you really need help the upcoming week." The doctor chimed in, making Harvey look even more happy.

"fine…" Mike conceded.

As Harvey talked with the doctor about the medication needed and what Mike was allowed to do and what not, Mike took a good look at him. He had dark circles underneath his eyes, worse than the I worked on a case till late ones, but the I am getting absolutely no sleep ones. His hair looked a bit ruffled, like he had been running his hands through it and he was missing a cufflink. And on a normal person this could be explained as just having a bad day. But mike knew Harvey. He was nothing but a perfectionist when it came to his looks, so what was bothering him so much?

**AN: It's short I know, but I wanted to see how you guys would like me to proceed, though it is definitely going to be a Mike/Harvey romance piece, I want your opinions of what you guys think should happen at Harvey his place**. **Hope you guys like it, especially LaylaBinx.**


	2. rinkeling

**AN: WOW! I had not expected so many people to read this thing, of course I have to thank LaylaBinx for the amazing prequel she wrote! Thank you guys so much for the reviews, and I shall try to pay more attention to capitalisation. I do realize I need to be beta'd. **

Mike had seen the apartment for only a second before Harvey had shut the door on him the last time, but now he could see he was right. The place was amazing. He was a little disgruntled though that Harvey thought he needed to use a wheelchair to get there. In the hospital it had been just fine, policy and all, but outside of it was a little ridiculous.

"Harvey come on, I have been lying in a bed for four days now, I need the exercise." Mike hated the way he sounded like a whiny kid, but he blamed it on the hole in his chest and the wheezing sounds. Not because he was in fact whining.

"For what kid? To lose some weight? You can do your very extensive work-out session after you are capable of walking out of this apartment without wincing." The mocking tone was laced with annoyance. Ever since they had gotten out of the hospital Mike had been whining to be allowed to do something. Harvey may have understood that he felt useless, that did not mean he would tolerate whining.

"Now you can choose, the couch or the guest bed. Cause I am not dragging you all over the apartment constantly get it."

"The couch then." Mike resigned.

"Good boy." Harvey muttered as he wheeled Mike towards the couch.

He propped some cushions to one side and helped Mike move from the wheelchair to the couch, trying to supress the guilt as he saw the agony on Mike his face. "Do you want some pain-meds?" Mike shook his head "They make me woozy."

Harvey placed a bell right next to Mike on the table. "I am no servant kid, so only use it if you really need something. Here is the remote, watch some TV or get some sleep. I'll be in the office."

Mike picked up the bell curiously and lifted an eyebrow. "Really Harvey?" The mocking tone annoyed Harvey more than anything. He may owe the kid, but he was tired damnit. "You want to try shouting kid? Cause my office is on the other side of the penthouse." He raised his eyebrow in a challenge. That shut him up.

Harvey turned around and was just to go into the next room when "Rinkeling" He turned around looking at Mike, who looked back sheepishly "Just checking if it works…"

**AN: Short I know, but I need to go sporting and this idea just kept annoying me after I started the story. I will be updating later on the day. So for everyone who wants longer chapters: I'm sorry I never really write long chapters, but I am trying to update The Case and this one daily. Once again, soooooooooooo happy with your reviews. **


	3. Mike Ross the failure

**AN I promised you a second update, so here it is. Hope you all like it :D**

The pain was excruciating. Mike his eyes fluttered open and for a moment he wasn't sure where he was. He took in the glass wall that offered a view of New york city in all its glory. He remembered again. He was at Harvey his place.

The pain in his chest reminded him again that he needed some painkillers. He tried not to scream as he sat up. He was surprised to find a blanket slip of his shoulders, and at the same time he was not. Harvey had been very caring, in his own way. He tried to remember when the older man had put a blanket over him, or when he had even fallen asleep. He could remember looking at the clock at about 5PM, so he guessed it could not have been much later that he had fallen asleep.

He picked up the glass of water and the medicine on the table, he had to remember thanking Harvey for them. Swallowing two pills with the water he moved to lie back on the couch when a sound alerted him to someone else in the house.

"No, don't, don't bail out on me, no." for a moment Mike had to supress the urge to hit himself, of course it would be the senior partner that made those sounds. The obvious distress he seemed to be in made Mike think. Walking over to wherever Harvey was would definitely be called strenuous by his doctor, but leaving the man in such mental agony seemed to cruel to even think about. He thought back on the sight of Harvey at the hospital. The obvious lack of sleep. He had been having nightmares.

The strangled "Mike" made him stand up, grabbing the couch for support as waves of pain assaulted him. He bit his lip, and strengthened his resolve by thinking of the man in need. Thankfully Harvey his room wasn't on the other side of the apartment. With slow baby steps Mike crossed the room, the dizziness from the painkillers kicking in accompanied by the now slightly curbed pain keeping him from moving very fast. Mike wanted to scream out of frustration. Listening to the always calm and collected Harvey, now in a panicked state, made mike want to help him. Yet he just could not go any faster.

He grabbed the handle of the door in a death grip stumbling into the room. The sight of Harvey tossing and turning, entangled by the sheets on the bed, made him stop for just a second. He looked so…broken. Throwing caution, and pain, in the wind he took three big steps to the edge of the bed. He sank down in the mattress in relief. The older man just kept tossing and turning. The younger man grabbed the hand nearest to him and did something his grandmother had done for him thousands of times. He started rubbing little circles on the hand while telling Harvey it was going to be okay. He was near and nothing would harm him.

It seemed to work at first, Harvey's breathing slowed and he stopped moving so much. Suddenly Mike was staring into two brown eyes and then he was off the bed. Apparently waking up to someone at his bed had shocked Harvey so much he ad accidently kicked the younger associate out of his bed, literally. The world erupted in a swirl of blackness and stars as he fell on his back.

"MIKE!" within a flash Harvey was next to him, lifting him up to sit on the bed. "What did you think you were doing on my bed? How did you get here anyway?" perhaps it was the lack of sleep that made Harvey his brain go fuzzy for he was unable to keep the worry from his voice.

"You were having a nightmare, and I walked Harvey." Came the deadpanned answer of the smaller guy. With a shaky laugh Harvey realised that his associate was just fine.

"Come on lets get you to the guest bed." He tried to lift Mike up only to have him drop back onto the bed. "Not a good idea." Were the only words Mike muttered. With a resigned sigh Harvey propped up some pillows and pulled back the blankets on the bed so he could put Mike in a better position. "Fine you sleep here tonight, I'll take the other bedroom." He made a move to get out of the room when mike his hand stopped him.

"My grandmother always told me to talk about nightmares, she said it kept them from returning." Harvey couldn't move. Should he tell the kid that every night he died. That he came too late every single time. "It's nothing" He pulled his arm away.

"It's normal to have nightmares after something like that Harvey. Come on I nearly died in your arms, anyone would be traumatized by that." The boy sounded exasperated, as if the fact that Harvey tried to keep it from him was worse than him having them.

"Then why are you not having any nightmares?" He pointed out, refusing to let the conversation stay on him.

"Because I do not regret what I did, I would have done it over and over again. It also happened to fast for me to really remember the pain, everything is a bit foggy." The answer came so easy, like he didn't need to think about it. Harvey wanted to shake the kid.

"How can you not regret it! I called you useless, made you feel bad about something that I should have helped you with in the first place. How can you not regret taking a bullet for me! Christ Mike, you could have died right there…" apparently his words seemed to have hit target, as mike his blue eyes had widened to an almost comical size. But when he opened his mouth the words that fell from Mike his lips were not what he expected to hear.

"You want to know why I do not regret taking that bullet? Let me tell you exactly why. I was, no am, a screw up! All my life, ever since my parents died I got the idea that I let everyone down, my grandmother for using pot and getting kicked out of school, Trevor for being a pathetic sidekick. I was so used to letting people down that I just stopped trying not letting them down. And then you come in, you gave me a way out. Not only that, but you actually make me want to prove to you that I can do it, that I can make you proud. I can finally look my grandmother in the eye again because of you. So yeah, when you tell me I screwed up, that I am useless, it hurts. But those few times that you actually tell me that I did good give me enough reason to try again. To be better! So no I do not regret taking that bullet for you, because without you there is no Mike Ross the lawyer, there would only be Mike Ross the failure. I owe you so much more than just a job Harvey, and I know you will never ever admit it, I will: I care about you."

It was just all too much. He needed a drink and a strong one. So he left Mike in that room, with tears in those blue eyes of his, from the pain or from the emotions he wasn't sure. But it was just too much.

**AN: The idea popped into my head, and I read so many stories of Mike being the weak one and Harvey being there for him, I also wanted a scene where it would be the other way around. **


	4. The momentthingy

**AN I am very happy that you like the story so far LaylaBinx. It was after all your story to begin with. To all the others thank you guys for your amazinnnng reviews :D. I'm happy everyone thinks I am keeping both of them in character, that's the biggest compliment you can give me :D. **

The second time Mike awoke it was daylight only this time there was no glass of water on the table next to him, nor the medicine. _Damn Harvey his bed is soft._ Was his first real coherent thought. It was however followed by the sinking feeling in his stomach that he had upset the delicate balance that was his relationship with Harvey. He had told him he cared. He groaned, then immediately winced because of the extra sting it caused in his already painful chest. He made mental note to never ever get shot again.

"Easy there kid." His head shot up so fast that he was sure he had felt something pop in his neck. Harvey was already dressed. The outfit was a little more casual than usual, but it still made him look impressive. All the awkwardness that he had showed last night was gone, the only visible sign of it were the circles underneath his eyes. And even those were less pronounced. '_did he use make-up?'_ Mike was sure he was going insane when that thought popped up.

"Can I have my medicine?" He was sure he saw Harvey flinch at the hoarseness of his voice, apparently his outbursts of yesterday night came back to haunt him.

"Not yet, the bandage needs to be changed and after that you need to eat something first. The medicine will make you less dizzy and nauseous when you eat first." Harvey answered moving into the room and helping Mike sit up. It seemed like he was hell bent on ignoring what was said last night, and Mike was not going to bring it up. "I can do it myself Harvey…" He started to protest only to be met with a glare that told him that this was not up for negotiation.

xxx

He pulled the shirt over the kids head, trying not to jar the arms to much to make it as painless as possible. He placed all the stuff he needed to replace the bandages next to Mike on the bed and started to slowly unwrap the current one. As the material came away bit by bit he started to notice the bruising. Mike his back had several blue and green coloured bruises from hitting the pavement, but also around the wound was the skin a greenish colour, which he was sure that if he placed his hand on it right now would be the same size. Harvey wanted to throw up. He was the cause of this.

He tried to focus himself on other things, anything as long as it kept him from thinking about how all of this came to be. He was surprised to find that Mike actually had some muscles, being so small and thin he had expected the kid to be all skin and bones underneath the suits. Surprisingly it wasn't so. He wondered where they came from, the younger associate hardly was a sports hero. His fingers traced Mike his stomach as he finished removing the bandages. When he looked up he was met with two blue eyes, looking very curious at him. So incredibly blue, Harvey always hated those comparisons to the sky and such, but with Mike they might actually be correct.

"Uhm Harvey…" Mike interrupted his musings. He grabbed the new bandages and continued to wrap the kid up. He had not been staring at him, not a chance. But still they were so blue, so very different from his own brown ones. So very expressive_. 'Damnit Harvey'_ he chided himself '_Save it for when you want to woo a lady, not to stare at your associate.'. _ But he had not been staring, had he?

With only a little winching from Mike he finished the job of wrapping him. He pulled the shirt back over the kid his head, and helped him get back into bed. "I'll be right back with your breakfast." Not waiting for the kid to answer his question, he marched out of the room.

Xxx

It hadn't been as awkward as Mike had thought it would be after last night. Harvey was still bossing him around like he always did, which brought him some sense of normalcy. Well how normal things could be at least if you considered he was staying with his boss after taking a bullet for him. He could hear Harvey rummage through the kitchen cabinets, no doubt in search for food.

But what had that whole "moment-thingy" been about. When his eyes locked onto those brown eyes. The guilt that flashed in those brown eyes made Mike want to slap the older man to the back of his head. He hadn't forced Mike to take the damn bullet. Yet there was more to it, something that left his mouth dry. He had a few experiences like that, most of them had been when Rachel made a particularly shocking comment. The "I'm not wearing underwear" topping the list, but this was Harvey Specter. Not a pretty paralegal, but his boss and mentor. Not to mention Harvey was MALE, and Mike was most definitely straight. He had of course experimented, long ago on a very drunken night with Trevor, but that had only made him sure that he was straight. So what had it been?

"Done with your thoughts? I have breakfast." The plate in Harvey his hand looked very very good. Mike hated hospital food, so the eggs and bacon and his mouth were a match made in heaven.

Xx

Harvey chuckled as he watched the kid nearly eat the plate as well in his haste to get the food inside.

"Easy there, though I do admit you can use some more fat on those bones of yours."

"Well I would be a lot fatter If my boss actually let me eat instead of having me work constantly." Came the answer from the associate.

"Well my associate would actually be able to eat if he finished his work in time." The scowl on Mike his face was so worth it.

"If my boss just would stop piling more work on my desk the minute I finish with the other stuff, he would see that I actually finish everything on time." The kid sure was fast with his comebacks.

"My associate is always on time with the files, unfortunately he never arrives on time for work. So I have to take time out of his break to make up for it."

"HEY, did you ever try riding a bike in New York during rush hour!" '_The biking, that's where he had gotten the muscles from'_ Harvey mused. He shook his head, why did he keep thinking of his associates body? It wasn't like he was that good looking, or female for that matter.

"Can I have the medicine now?" He had to keep down a smile when he heard the petulant whine. He could understand that the kid was in pain, but he just sounded just too cute when he whined liked he was ten instead of 28. "I'll go grab it." And once again he left him.

**AN: I'll post an update for The Case later today, family is coming over though, so it might be quite late….not sure yet. **


	5. The requests

**AN One again I hope you all like it :D I'm planning to answer everyone their reviews personally, and for the ones that I cannot answer due to a shortage of time will be answered in my authors note. On with the story!**

Mike hated being stuck in this bed. Books could only occupy him for a short amount of time, television couldn't keep his mind from straying. So despite the bed being comfortable Mike was bored and wanted out of it. Seeing as getting out of bed wasn't an option, he decided to try and find something to keep him from being so bored. The answer came to him when he saw the little silver bell on his bedside. Harvey was his boss and all, but he did care so he wouldn't be completely heartless if Mike made a few requests.

#request number one: The books

Time: 3:16 PM

"Ringelingeling"

"Yes Mike?"

"Can I have some more books?" Putting on his most innocent face "I already finished these." Handing over Tolstoi and George Orwell (books Harvey had given him at 2 PM). Within minutes Harvey was back with seven other literary novels.

"Thank you."

#Request number two: Water

Time 3:22 PM

"Ringelingeling"

"Yess.." He already had started to use shorter sentences.

"Can I have some water?" Mike waited till Harvey was at the door before adding "With cumcumber slices, they keep the taste fresher, I would not want to impose on anything ofcourse." This request took a little longer than the books, but in the end Mike had his water with the slices, accompanied by a dark glare from Harvey.

#Request number three: Pillows.

Time: 3:30 PM

"Ringelingeling"

This time Harvey didn't even ask he just raised one eyebrow.

"My pillows need to be fluffed" trying to keep from laughing at Harvey he added "They feel very uncomfortable like this." That was a blatant lie, these pillows were heaven, clouds could not be more fluffier. This one did take some pain on mike his part of sitting up but that just kept him from laughing.

#Request number four: Socks

Time: 3:41 PM

"ringelingeling"

Mike didn't wait for Harvey to even enter the room properly he just immediately asked him to put some socks on his feet because his feet were cold. That look of pure restraint on Harvey his face to hit his head was just priceless. He could not keep it in any more. The laughter was mixed with little yelps of pain, but it made him feel so much better. He sobered up though when he saw a flash of hurt cross over Harvey his face before it turned to stone.

Harvey didn't respond to the bell after that and Mike guessed he deserved that. Until he felt his bladder start to act up. He needed to go to the toilet, but he doubted he could do it alone. The analogy of the boy who cried wolf ran through his head as he cursed. He was unable to scream for that jostled his chest too much, Harvey wouldn't respond to the bell either.

Deciding he would just try to make it on his own, he rose from the bed. The bedside table nearly toppled over with the weight he put on it. He groaned, really bullets did nothing for your health. Apparently the food did not curb the dizziness entirely as a fresh wave assaulted him. It was the last though he had before he crashed to the floor and blackness overtook him.

Harvey heard the bell several times, but decided not to act on it. He had been trying to be helpful and in return he had been mocked by Mike. That is why he did not do the whole nice and caring things. There were better ways to die than to be stabbed in the back. A slam from the room Mike was in had him up and running in no time though. He swore his heart stopped beating as he saw his associate on the ground. 'Again' he thought bitterly.

A groan from the younger man made him realize he had been standing still, and he moved to his aid swiftly. "Mike you idiot, what the hell did you think you were doing." It took Mike a while to answer the older man. "Need to use the bathroom H'vey." The words were slurred a bit, probably still from having the wind knocked out of him. Within second Harvey had Mike seated on the toilet in the en- suite, there was a very expensive rug in the bedroom after all. He waited patiently outside the bathroom till Mike was finished. All the while cursing himself for not answering the bell, and debating whether or not to change the dressings to see if the wound had started to bleed.

When Mike called him in again the boy seemed to be feeling a lot better. "What were you thinking, kid!" Harvey admonished him, supporting him back to bed.

"With the bell? Or trying to get to the bathroom on my own?" He sighed exasperately.

"Both, you know for a genius you are pretty stupid."

"I'm sorry Harvey, really. I'm just so incredibly bored here. Nothing keeps my mind occupied enough, and I can't even toss and turn in annoyance!"

"why didn't you just say that instead of annoying me."

"Because you are busy with work, and I doubt you would make the time to entertain me when I asked you nicely." It was mumbled, he caught it anyway.

"You think I wouldn't help you? Kid you took a bullet for me, why would I not help you?"

"That is just it Harvey! You do it out of guilt, but I want you to talk to me because you actually want to talk to me. Like I actually mean something more than an associate with a freaky brain." He was taken aback with the ferocity of the answer, and Mike seemed just as shocked.

"I'm sorry Harvey…I…"

Mike watched in agony as Harvey left the room. He hadn't meant to lash out at him, but he was just so sick of this. He never really knew where he stood with Harvey, and him being the emotionally stunted man he was would never tell him either. He just wanted some company that actually enjoyed his company as well. Mike sighed, wondering how long Harvey would ignore him now. It would be hard getting help from someone that actually didn't want to help him. A rattling noise shook him out of his reverie.

"Okay kid, no cheating. Let's see how good you are at this."

"Monopoly Harvey, really?"

**AN: A little longer than the previous entry, but I hope you guys like it. I've got another story in my head for Harvey and Mike but I am not sure whether I will start with that one after I finish either the Case or this one (whichever comes first) or if I'll just try to juggle three stories and work. **


	6. Meiko

**AN: I'm sorry I know I should have updated The case first, but this just kept bugging me. I hope I will be able to update The case soon enough. For now here is the next chapter for TDOA. **

"Okay Harvey, I'm curious. Why monopoly? Why do you even own the game?" they had just started the third game, it was actually pretty funny plating board games with the high and mighty Harvey specter.

"You do not have an advantage at this game with that freaky memory of yours." He answered throwing the dices. "As for why I own it, you'll see that for yourself tomorrow."

"What about tomorrow?" Mike asked moving his pawn three steps forward. "I'm buying that one by the way."

"I need to go into work tomorrow, so I'll leave you to the capable hands of the reason why I own this board. Pay up." Obviously he found it funny to keep Mike in the dark about all of it.

"Come on Harvey, you do not tease a sick person." Using his best puppy dog look he tried to persuade Harvey into talking.

"No, you just tease the person paying you. Remember Mike, I do not help someone that doesn't deserve it. It's called payback in case you have forgotten."

"I have an eidetic memory, but clearly you don't seeing as you forgot that."

"Well I did _not forget_ that I have a hotel on that spot, and all I need to remember about you is that you may remember everything, but know absolutely nothing about actually applying it."

"I can pay it anyway, you recently had to pay me about double of that, _remember._ And I doubt you know much more about applying things. Donna does all your work remember."

"Do not mention her name; you never know when she pops up." He whispered back, and Mike burst out laughing at the look of mock fear on Harvey his face. He was sure that Harvey was honestly afraid of Donna when she was seriously angry. The woman was a force to be reckoned with.

They continued another two games before Mike finally acknowledged that he was tired. Harvey threw him a package of crackers.

"Here, eat those then take your pills, you'll probably sleep better with those. I'm going to put this back." Mike stared after him. Being so near Harvey in a different setting than work made him see so much more of the man he thought he had figured out. For one, the guy was perfectly groomed even down to his freaking toenails. Mike almost expected them to be polished when he realized Harvey wasn't wearing any shoes or socks. Secondly, he even looked great in an old sweater and some jeans. Mike wondered whether god had decided that Harvey should embody pure perfection when he was made. Shaking his head to relieve him from the thoughts, he swallowed his pills and laid back down to get some sleep.

He woke up almost seven hours later, and he was startled to find that it was 1 AM and he was not alone in his room. Harvey was leaning against the wall of his room, just watching him. Mike took a closer look and realized that he was wearing sleeping pants and there was a layer of sweat on his skin. It gleamed in the moonlight that fell through the window, making him look like he was glowing.

"Nightmare again?" Mike asked, Harvey only nodded.

"I just….I wanted to know you were still breathing." Apparently Harvey was too tired to even add the "I do not care" piece.

Mike scooted a little to the left, trying to keep from groaning in pain. "why don't you just lay next to me on the bed, perhaps having me near you will calm you enough to actually sleep without nightmares." It was just an idea, he had read somewhere that people usually slept better with someone near them when they were suffering from nightmares.

Harvey let out a dry chuckle "having you near me usually makes me want to tear out my hair out of frustration." He moved to the bed nonetheless. It took a little while for them to get used to actually sharing the blanket, but Harvey soon drifted off to sleep. The nightmares of the last few days taking their toll. Mike smiled _'What would people say if he told them he had slept with his boss?_' That thought however led to thoughts of him and Harvey _together_. Oddly enough it didn't make him nauseous, not even a little. _That _however did disturb him.

Mike woke up to the sound of Harvey his voice conversing with someone else out in the hallway. He couldn´t make out what they were saying but the other voice was definitely female. Too high pitched to be Donna´s or Jessica´s though. More….childlike. He was almost running out of option of who it could be, not that there were many to begin with (scout girls selling cookies and someone from the building were the only two he could come up with), when the door was opened. The girl that was with Harvey was pretty, the long black hair and the fair skin made her look almost like a doll. He guessed she was about 13 years old.

"Mike this is Meiko, she will be taking care of you today."

"Hi Meiko…" The hand he had put forward was dropped back on the bed when he realized she was blind. The girl giggled.

"You didn't tell him about me did you?" Her voice was a very pleasant sound to hear.

The easiness that came from her and Harvey made a pang of jealousy rise up, how well did she know Harvey? He squashed it, she was thirteen for gods sake.

"Not really, and I have to get to work so I'll leave that up to you if you want." He ruffled her hair and made his way out of the room. For a blind person she made her way across the room as if she could see it and plopped down on the bed, once again making him wonder how well she knew this place.

Once again she laughed.

"You want to know how I know Harvey right?"

"Well yes…"

"Don't sound so surprised, being blind gives me the advantage that I have other heightened senses. I felt you shift and heard you take in a deep breath when Harvey smiled at me."

"That's incredible…I'm a genius, but I think you might actually benefit more from your gifts."

"You sound like Harvey, _benefit from_ , no wonder he likes you." She smiled at him.

"Harvey likes me? And you still haven't told me how you know Harvey." He was eager to know more. Harvey liked him?

"Well he complains about you every time I come here, so yeah he likes you."

"That doesn't make much sense..." The girl was certainly an enigma.

"You don't get it do you. Harvey hardly talks about other people, even Donna is only fleetingly mentioned every once in a while. You however he can spend the entire hour whining about. And I am pretty sure he dislikes Louis more than he even dislikes cheap suits, and he never mentions him . Ergo Harvey actually like you." All this was told with exasperated hand movements, like he was the idiot for not understanding that if Harvey complained about you, he actually liked you. After thinking this over he realized he was an idiot. If Harvey didn't care he didn't feel the need to even so much as think about a person. Yet Mike clearly occupied his mind a lot. The thought made Mike feel a lot better than he really should. Harvey really cared.

Two fingers snapped in front of him. "If you want to know how I know Harvey, you do actually have to pay attention to my story." She may not look like Harvey, she certainly had his attitude.

"I'm sorry, please go on."

"I can't actually remember a lot from our first meeting. I met him when I was four months old. My mother, an addict that lived on the street, had abandoned me when she realized I was blind. Harvey found me and took me to the hospital, he paid for all the tests and when they finally released me brought me to a good orphanage. I of course do not remember, but apparently every year on Christmas and on my birthday he would visit me. My first real memory was when I was about five years old. I was sulking because some other girl had been adopted and I had not, I had been refusing to eat, out of desperation they had called Harvey who came by immediately." She took a breath, she had talked so fast that eventually she didn't have any oxygen left.

"He told me to toughen up. That if I would keep pulling such a depressing face no one ever would adopt me. Harsh to a five year old, don't you think? But it worked for me. After that I began to ask for Harvey, and he would visit more often than just twice a year. I never got adopted, but Harvey became a dad for me. He took me to baseball games, telling me what was happening on the field. We went to the zoo together, him telling me funny stories about what the animals were doing. I knew they weren't true, but it didn't matter. I could see it happen in my head. Harvey never treated me like a blind, he expected me to move around his apartment as if I could see. When I started visiting he let me walk with a cane for the first four times after that he took it away and expected me to walk around without knocking things over. I learned the hard way how every room in this apartment looks. Harvey demanded from me to learn to live with the disability as if I could see. He made me a better person by demanding so much. Of course he will never actually tell me he cares" she imitated Harvey his voice "I have a reputation to uphold."

"You sound a lot older than you look. How old are you?"

"I'm twelve, and everyone tells me that. I guess it's because I mostly had Harvey as company. The orphanage is great, but also crowded. The ones that take care of us are always so busy, and the kids think I am weird because I am blind. I can't play catch or something like that. So I am no fun." She sounded so resigned to that fact, Mike felt sorry for her.

"when I was young, my parents died in a car crash, I was in the car with them." The blind eyes were looking straight at him, and for a moment he believed she saw him.

"I have five long scars on my back from the accident, besides that I have a freakishly high IQ and am very thin. Children didn't like me much either, I spent most of my time with my grandma. I did have one friend though. Trevor. He wasn't such a great friend in the end. I ended up in some trouble, it's how I met Harvey. To escape some people that were following me I ended up in an interview with Harvey about being his associate. He decided to help me and hired me. That and of course I rocked in comparison to the rest of those Harvard clowns." She laughed again. He decided he liked her laugh. He wanted to keep her happy, she deserved it. "So you want to play a game? I think the monopoly board is meant for you?" She jumped of the bed and was back in second with the board.

"You need to read the things out loud for me, but get ready to get your ass kicked." Yup, she definitely grew up around Harvey.

**AN: How do you guys like it? Special thanks to Periperi for your advice :D**


	7. Mike shall decide

**AN: I'm really getting a lot of ideas lately, but they are for both the case and this story…so they are starting to mix up a bit….which is why it took this long for an update…**

"I heard something interesting today." Mike notifies Harvey, both of them are sitting on the bed eating Chinese take-out food. The older man only "hmms" in response.

"Meiko told me you care a lot about me." He smiles cheekily at his boss when he looks up from the episode of star wars they were watching.

"You mean that you actually needed a twelve year old, blind girl to tell you that? The whole helping you get dressed, letting you stay here, taking time off from work and not to mention the goddamn bell didn't get the message across? Did the bullet also hit your brain along the way?" Mike almost burst out laughing at the disgruntled look Harvey threw at him.

"Well you could easily have been doing those things to get me back on my feet sooner, because you know I can do paperwork ten times faster than anyone else at the firm. But glad to know you admit you care about me." He punched Harvey softly in the shoulder, giving him a megawatt smile.

"I don't get why you are so happy about that pup? You were claiming I cared since you walked into my office. You are acting as if I just proposed to you." Mike looked thoughtful for a moment making Harvey wonder what was going on in that freakishly large brain of his.

"I don't know Harvey, if you were proposing to me and I would actually want to say yes, I doubt I would actually say much. And I'd be much happier. But this is a real breakthrough already, so you might want to wait with proposing. We don't want to give you an emotion overload now, do we?" Harvey waited a few seconds before realization hit Mike that he actually told Harvey he wanted him to propose.

"Well Mike, I knew you liked me. But you can forget that I will ever propose to you? You see I am more into the female type." He leaned in to whisper it in the associates ear as if telling a big secret. The shiver that Mike tried to supress made Harvey feel so good. Yet in a different way than he expected. The realization dawned on him that he wanted Mike to shiver because of him.

"Please Harvey I do not want you to propose to me. The only thing you can ever propose to me that I would say yes to is taking lunch for once, instead of actually working non-stop." The flush that was on the boy his cheeks was adorable.

"Oh really, so the big apartment, the money, the fame, the name and the fact that I am handsome mean absolutely nothing to you?" He was actually curious about it.

"Harvey I am more into the female type, but besides that there is something you lack: It's called a good personality."

"Wait we just established I do care about you, so that makes your point moot." 'Beat that'.

"Well it did take a near death experience to coax that out of you, I hope you aren't that egotistical to believe that you can have another person should at someone you care about and let that person actually survive. No one has that much luck. So I think your future wife will never know if you actually care."

"Well I would never marry a person that actually needs validation for everything she does. Unlike you pup. Which means that I would not even marry you if you were female."

"Everyone needs to hear it sometimes Harvey."

"some people actually realize that there are words between the lines. I guess your freakishly large brain can only understand the lines and not the space in between."

"I can, I knew you cared from the beginning remember? But hearing you say the words just confirms things. Signals can easily be misunderstood."

"And words can be twisted and turned until they mean something else entirely. You should know that as a lawyer, ow wait I forgot you do not actually have any experience with that." They held their straight faces for only a few seconds until Mike burst out laughing and Harvey grinned.

Mike clutched at his chest, trying to stop laughing to keep the pain at a bearable level. He shifted a little only to end up with his face almost on Harvey his shoulder when his pillow moved. Harvey turned his face to look at what Mike was doing. Their eyes locked. Brown met blue. Cold met warm. Lust met need. They both weren't sure what happened next of who moved first only that their lips connected. It was over in seconds with Harvey launching himself of the bed and Mike moving back to the other side as far as he could. After a few seconds that seemed minutes of silence Harvey left the room.

Mike touched his lips feeling them tingle, the last time he had that response to a kiss was his first kiss ever. And that had been because of nerves. It had been chaste, no tongue involved, no long lasting lingering sighs. But it left Mike reeling. He was straight, he didn't like Harvey like that…did he?

He poured the scotch in the glass and chucked it back immediately. Yet it didn't stop his lips from tingling, didn't get the smell of mike out of his nose and the taste of him out of his mouth. Another shot was downed, but it didn't help. He nearly smashed the glass out of frustration. He did not care for his associate like that. Harvey was a smart man, and he knew that trying to tell yourself things hardly worked, he knew his own mind like the back of his hand. He hated it. How could he have let this happen, he wasn't gay and he had not noticed any attraction for Mike before all this happened. Before Mike moved in with him temporarily. How did this happen?

When he saw a pretty female he looked once, maybe twice, but a handsome man he had never felt anything for. The only reason why he would look twice would be to judge his suit.

He worked with the idea that logic could fix anything, so he decided to make a plan.

One:

how involved was he? Recalling how he had felt when he thought Mike might have died and the rush of emotions by something that would barely qualify as a kiss. He was screwed.

Two:

How to handle it? He was a master at pretending, he could easily say nothing happened. The meds were pretty heavy. Mike had an eidetic memory, telling him he must have made it up was stupid, he hadn't taken his meds yet for that to work either. He could just ignore it. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to ignore it, he didn't like letting opportunities slide, and this might be the start of something good ('sappy much Harvey?'). He decided to leave that question for later.

Three:

What would Mike think? Mike probably didn't know much more than he did he guessed. The look on his face after the 'accident' told him more than enough. He had saved him from a bullet though, and unlike Harvey he constantly told him he cared. He was now probably running on an emotional overload. Harvey decided to dismiss the point as it was of no use to him unless he figured out two.

Four:

What would the consequences be? Not capable of answering unless two was figured out.

So it all came down on how to handle things. He knew that telling mike it was just an imagination didn't work, ignoring it might work and then there was always the idea of addressing the whole problem. He was no coward, but the thought of talking with Mike about the kiss was just plain scary. The kid was probably going to cry and Harvey wasn't really good with tears. Well maybe that would be a little melodramatic for the younger man to do. So Harvey did the only thing he could think of. He would let Mike decide. He would wait for the associate to make the first move.

**AN: Short, but I hope you all like it. Please review :D**


	8. Exception

**AN sorry for the long wait, I hit a minor writers block. I hope you guys like this chapter, please read and review :D. **

Letting Mike decide was the worst thing Harvey could have done. Mike had decided to ignore the whole thing, pretending like everything was fine. Which it wasn't. Mike kept silent most of the time, the only words Harvey had heard from him the entire week were the thank yous after changing his bandages and a yes or no on what to eat. Harvey was going insane. He wanted to acknowledge the incident, yet Mike wanted to ignore it. After snapping once again at a very unfortunate associate that had to replace Mike for the time being he had enough.

"Donna could I have your advice on something?" The red head was sitting on the couch in his office, looking as if he had grown another head. She stayed silent though.

"I kissed Mike." He blurted out and all of a sudden the dam broke "Now the kid is ignoring me, not saying anything but thank you and yes and no. He is acting as if nothing happened, yet he can't look me in the eye, tries to stay as far away as possible. And now he has healed enough to actually move around the apartment, and when Meiko isn't keeping him occupied he hides behind a book, which I know he isn't reading because the pages move way to slow for Mike." He pinched his nose.

"Wow Harvey, I can't say I'm surprised." The red head looked way to smug as his head shot up.

"What do you mean you are not surprised? And don't give me the "_I'm Donna"_ phrase, considering I didn't even know I wanted to kiss the guy." _Wait what?_ He had wanted to kiss mike? Clearly his subconscious had realized something his rational mind still tried to ignore. He wanted to kiss Mike, again.

"Oh come on Harvey! You may not notice, but you took to Mike almost immediately, which I have to say hurt my feelings considering it took me a few months. When you two work together, you actually smile Harvey. You two share something, which I would like to call sexual tension. But it's not just that and you know it. He challenges you Harvey, he makes you care, he knows you. I didn't tell you this but he asked me when your birthday was so he could give you something. He looked so hopeful I didn't have the heart to tell him you never want to celebrate. He cares about you. You two may want to deny it, but I know what friendship looks like and you guys have much more than that going on."

"But…I'm straight." Harvey tried to persuade her, it didn't come out as confident as he wanted to and it only earned him a laugh from his assistant.

"Oh Harvey, there are always exceptions to rules. You just have to accept that Mike is the exception to yours." With those words she walked out of the office, leaving him to ponder about her words.

If there was one thing he hated it was being unsure of anything. It was unfamiliar for him. He was sure that he could get every lady, had he wanted it male, in a bar. He knew he could convince anyone to take a deal or leave it. He could do just about anything, but facing Mike and admitting there might be something more to things than just a simple mistake seemed terrifying. Suddenly the intercom buzzed.

"I've cancelled all of your appointments Harvey. Just go talk to him, he might be more afraid than you are. He already almost lost every person in the world he had dear once don't make him lose you too." Donna definitely deserved a raise.

Mike was frustrated beyond believe. His eidetic memory was cursed once again as he tried to read Tolstoi, but was constantly pulled back to that kiss. It had just been a second, not even with tongue. The worst part was that he wanted more. Wanted to explore the body of his boss for gods sake. Every morning he tried to think of Louis as Harvey's nimble fingers changed the bandages, the soft caresses across his skin sending shivers down his spine and his blood to move south at a rather fast pace. He had given up trying to convince himself that he was straight days ago, when he clearly had a rather steamy dream starring Harvey fucking Specter.

He knew it wasn't just a physical attraction, it never would be just that. He had admired Harvey from the beginning, and his glowing red cheeks when Meiko once again told him to stop thinking of Harvey and focus on whatever they were doing meant he was lost. He had lost something very important to Harvey and he wasn't sure whether he would ever get it back. He had lost his goddamn heart and it hurt more than that bullet could have ever done. All this over a stupid thing that was not even a proper kiss.

The door slammed and Mike jumped, letting out a loud curse as he jostled his still very sore chest.

"Harvey what are you doing home? I thought you would be at the firm until late finishing the Mathew vs Gubler case." The determined look on the older associate his face told him something was up before his words did.

"Just shut up and let me try something okay."

"But…" Mike tried to argue and then there was heaven. This was what a proper kiss felt like. Harvey had his hands on Mike his neck, tangling his fingers in his hair, pulling him close as his mouth explored the younger associates mouth. There was battle for dominance which Harvey won and somewhere in the back of Mike his mind there was a voice exclaiming _'duh'_, but that was easily dismissed as he relished in the warmth of Harvey his body, puling at the older man his tie only to settle his hands on the man his waist pulling him closer. There was a dull throb in his chest but it was easily overruled by the pleasure that Harvey was giving him.

They finally broke away, both panting heavily trying to make up for the loss of oxygen in their lungs.

"What… was… that.. about.?" Mike panted out.

"trying to see if you were my exception." Harvey answered, still keeping Mike close.

"And am I?" Mike asked trying to hide his smile at the sight of a ruffled Harvey.

"You definitely are kid, you definitely are." He ruffled the younger associate his hair giving him a lazy grin.

Suddenly the reality set in with Mike. "We can't do this…" he untangled himself from Harvey placing himself behind the couch trying to create some space between them.

"Sorry, but I believe you were just as eagerly participating as I was in that kiss." A look of hurt flashed across Harvey his face.

"I was, and even though I really thought I was straight up until a few days ago, that was one hell of a kiss. I mean we can't do this as in I work for you, I am one for monogamy I can't be a toy. A relationship would probably end up somewhere down the drain considering we are both terrible at them.." Mike was having a full blown panic attack.

"Breath Mike, just breath." Harvey said placing his hand on Mike his shoulder who had slumped down on the couch during his rant. "First, yes that was one hell of a kiss. Second Pearson and Hardman has no real policy about dating around the office, and we are already keeping the secret of you not being an actual lawyer, I doubt this would really be such trouble to keep from the office and they can't do anything about it if word did get out, because quite frankly it's legal and it will not interfere with our work. Third, I am willing to give this whole thing a shot if things will be just as good as that kiss just there. I will even sign a contract I will not fire you should our….relationship go wrong." The kid was still tense so Harvey massaged his shoulders for a while until he felt the muscles relax underneath his hands.

"How can you be so sure?" Mike never had looked more like a puppy than right now.

"If I'm honest I'm not. But some beautiful red head told me we had something going on, and no one disagrees with her." Mike cracked a little smile at Harvey his comment.

"Remind me to get Donna a gift when I finally get back to the office." Harvey took a good look at his associate and saw the dark circles underneath his eyes, the grayish coloured skin of someone that hadn't gotten much sleep lately.

"I don't know about you, but I'm tired. Care to join me to get some sleep?"

"Are you propositioning me Mr. Specter, because I have to warn you I'm not that kind of guy." Mike batted his eyelashes at Harvey.

"I'm sure you are not, but I will have my wicked way with you sooner or later. No one can resist the Specter charm. Remind me to get you a bonnet though, you would sure fit in with the ladies of gone with the wind."

"You watched gone with the wind? I can't believe you actually had to meet me to figure out that you are actually gay."

"Hey gone with the wind is a classic, and for the record I am perfectly straight, you are just my exception to the rule."

"Sure sure, whatever makes you sleep at night."

Mike slipped underneath the sheets at the other side of the bed and stayed there, Harvey went on a dare and pulled the younger man close to him, wrapping his arms around him. As Mike curled up against him falling asleep almost immediately Harvey realized something. "Mike might be his exception, but Harvey had never liked being normal anyway. He wanted to keep this exception in his life even if it he had to give up everything else.

**AN: I'm not sure whether to end it here, or add another chapter with an epilogue. What do you guys think? For now I'm changing it to complete**.


	9. epilogue

**AN: Well you wanted an epilogue, and I had some ideas for it anyway. So here it is. I want to thank Laylabinx one more time for letting me write this.**

_10 years later__:_

The black car pulled up to the steps of an age old building and out stepped two handsome men. The older one had his hand firmly clasped in the younger man his hand, who was tugging on it trying to get the other man move faster.

"Come on Harvey, we are going to be late."

"Calm down Mike, it will not start for another thirty minutes." Harvey adjusted his tie with one hand as he sped up to keep up with Mike.

"I want to see her before it starts. You know she was nervous about her speech."

"Harvey? Mike? I thought I heard your voices." A beautiful young woman walked up to them.

"Meiko, of course we are here. We would have been here sooner if Harvey didn't need thirty minutes to do his hair." The comment earned him a slap against the back of his head.

"How are you feeling Meiko?" The older man asked the female that would always be his little girl.

"I'm fine, a little nervous. I can't believe I am graduating from Harvard Law today." Harvey had to agree he couldn't quite believe it either. He knew she was smart of course, but this was really something. Especially considering she was blind, but not only was she graduating, she was also graduating first of her year.

AS the ceremony got started Harvey his mind wandered back in time over the past ten years. Mike and him were happily married for seven years now, but their relationship had not been easy the first few years. The first year had been the easiest really. They kept their relationship from work and spent the weekends together at Harvey his place. It wasn't until their one year anniversary was coming up that they realized how serious things really were between them. According to Donna they had been blissfully screwing around without actually thinking. Harvey nearly ended the relationship when he had a panic attack. The whole thing had been triggered when he came home one day and realized that Mike his worn down shoes were standing right next to his gleaming ones. He suddenly had started to notice how Mike had slowly had taken over his apartment, the extra books, the suits in the closet, his razor and shaving cream, his aftershave. He broke up with Mike that evening, only to call him back three hours later, and he would never admit this, begging him to come back and he would make it up to him. Six months later Mike moved in.

Jessica her shocked face when she realized that two of her employees had been in a relationship for eighteen months was worth the stress of admitting it to the firm. There had been a few extra jokes about Mike sleeping with his boss to get the job, and Louis made jabs at Mike when he wanted to piss off Harvey. It had all stopped though when Harvey hit Louis in the face after a particularly bad comment. Mike tended to Harvey his bruised knuckles and chiding him for losing his control like that. But secretly he had liked the fact that Harvey had stood up for him, he admitted it later that day when they were getting ready for bed.

They had their own problems along the way. Harvey his fear for letting people see that he cared, Mike his grandmother dying which caused him to have nightmares every night for three months straight, making both of them grumpy and snappy at each other. They had broken up twelve times and every time made up within five hours. They proposed at the same time during Christmas lying on their couch watching the city. Mike had nearly fallen of the couch laughing.

Meiko moved in with them when she turned sixteen. Considering it was still difficult for gay couples to adopt she never was their daughter on paper or biologically, but to them they were a family. And now they were here watching their little girl graduate. A tug on his hand made him look at the man beside him. He hardly ever told Mike he loved him, but he knew that Mike knew he loved him with the things he did. Smiling he wrapped his arm around his associate, no wait Mike had just been promoted to junior partner at the firm. The younger man laid his head on Harvey his shoulder as they continued to watch the ceremony. They clapped louder than anyone when Meiko finished her speech and Harvey realized he could not be happier. He grabbed Mike his hand as he walked towards his little girl, their fingers entwining as if it was natural. And to them it was. He looked into the shining blue eyes of his husband, his exception, and he smiled.

**AN this truly is the ending! **


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